45. Stupid as a Bull

Yanli woke up with a searing headache and a cramp in her foot. It was probably the cramp that woke her up, she thought as she fruitlessly tried to flex her foot while folded up like a fan. She managed to keep from panicking or screaming long enough to remember bits and pieces of her meeting with Jiang Fengmian, who had obviously drugged her. She did not remember anything past him saying that she was as stubborn as her mother…something about Wen Ruohan, maybe?

It was as she tried to wiggle around that she realized something was wrong. Not that she was locked in a travel trunk, which was obviously very wrong in principle, but that was not why she felt alarm throughout her body.

She was flying.

Or rather, the trunk was flying, likely being carried between two disciples on swords. She could tell by the familiar floating feeling, the sounds of air swooshing by, the way she was swung about in little jolts that would never happen in a wagon.

She took a deep gulp of air and immediately started one of A’Cheng’s breathing exercises to ward off the waves of panic. If they dropped her, there was nothing she could do. She was locked in a trunk and held high up in the air by disciples who probably knew she was Madam Yu’s daughter. Her whole body shook as she worked on convincing herself that this was not an elaborate assassination. If Sect Leader Jiang wanted her dead, she would already be dead.

The flight was interminable, dark and uncomfortable. She needed to relieve herself, but used her feeble qi to hold her bladder in check. It was not a long-term solution, but she refused to get out of that trunk soaked in urine.

It gave her plenty of time to berate herself for her folly. It was clear that Sect Leader Jiang had her watched, and sent for her when she was apart from Meng Shi or any of the Nie. Had A’Yao or Meng Shi been there, or even Nie Huaisang, they would have warned her never to approach Jiang Fengmian by herself. Ying’er had warned her before he left, even!

She had thought that he would follow the gentry etiquette she had been raised to emulate and admire, despite everything. She ground her teeth, realizing that in so many ways she was still a naïve young girl, and resolved never to leave her cleverer advisors behind ever again. Resolved even more-so never to assume the best of men like Jiang Fengmian, or give them room to outmaneuver her.

Finally, she felt the dip and slant that indicated they were descending to land somewhere. She did a few more deep breathing exercises to center herself, then tried again to flex her leg muscles, using a bit more of her precious qi to help with blood circulation.

The trunk thumped onto the ground and sat still for a few minutes, and she could hear voices around her rising and falling, the familiar sounds of disciples setting up camp. Eventually, the trunk was unlocked and opened.

Yanli was almost made dizzy by the fresh air, taking deep breaths to replenish her lungs, before opening her eyes slowly. Jiang Fengmian stood just in her field of vision, a few steps away from the trunk. He said nothing as she fumbled her way to standing, once again directing her qi to help with her circulation for a few moments. Finally, she felt steady enough to step carefully out of the trunk.

She stood up, rolled her shoulders back, put her shaking hands in her sleeves, and glared at her kidnapper with every ounce of her mother’s cold fury that she could channel. She remained still and did not speak, knowing that her fath—that Jiang Fengmian was a man who grew uncomfortable with extended silences.

Around them, many of the disciples had come to a complete stop. More than a few looked horrified to see her there—did they not know about his plan to kidnap her? How much was he hiding from his own followers? She caught sight of Jiang Wu, standing with a few other disciples, all of them wearing expressions ranging from shock to hopelessness. No, it was clear they had not known anything about her abduction. She wondered idly what Jiang Fengmian has told them about this otherwise extremely random trip into the wilderness.

Finally, he let out an aggrieved sigh, as if she was being a difficult child. She figured that was fair. She was nineteen and not a child anymore, but she planned on being as difficult as possible.

“Please cooperate. I have no desire to hurt you, but Wen Ruohan has no such reservations.”

She stared at him with every ounce of fury her mother had bequeathed to her. “My brothers will rescue me, and they will show no mercy when they do.”

He scoffed. “They have no idea. They believe you are safely back in the Unclean Realm, and I doubt your absence there has even been noticed yet. I timed this so that I and my disciples would leave there as expected. No one noticed that two of them had left a mere hour earlier with cargo.”

A chill went down her spine, thinking of Liu Peng waiting for her at the gate to the Qilin’s Haven. She would know that Yanli had never come out…what had Jiang Fengmian ordered done to her?

He lifted a hand and gestured at the scenery. “If you are curious, we are on the far side of Mount Muxi, the home of the Xuanwu of Slaughter.”

She knew she had not controlled her response when he nodded gravely.

“Yes, Wen Ruohan has known for a while where the last piece of yin iron is. Wei Ying’s control and connection to it are a fraction of what Wen Ruohan can do.”

Perhaps, she thought. But if that was the case, why hadn’t he already retrieved it? Something did not add up there, but she channeled A’Yao’s gambling face and said nothing in reply.

He sighed again. “Don’t be like your mother, A’Li. Try to understand the bigger picture here. Wen Ruohan is going to win whatever feeble attempt at rebellion the other sects put up. The force he sent to Lotus Pier was overwhelming, and there was only one end for us if we had fought back. Better to bend the knee before being annihilated and save my sect for the future.”

She held herself in check by sheer force of will, speaking softly. “What part of your soul did you sell to save your pride?”

He stood there for a long, quiet moment before answering. “You do not know what has been happening since you left—”

“Left? You threw us out!” She stopped and took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear it. “It doesn’t matter. Please, continue, Sect Leader Jiang.”

He had the same sour expression he wore whenever her mother interrupted him. At least she was coming to understand why her mother had interrupted him so often.

“Whatever has happened, Wen Ruohan demands that Wei Ying be turned over to him, along with the final piece of the yin iron, as a sign of my loyalty. As much as I hate to do so—”

Yanli actually snorted in derision, then covered her mouth, earning her yet another of Jiang Fengmian’s sour looks.

“Whatever you believe, A’Li, I never wanted harm to come to you or the boys. Throwing you out was a mercy; many men would have had you killed off, or sold you to a brothel. I did neither, and made no attempt to apprehend Wei Ying after he robbed our coffers and fled.” He held out his hands as if to say, ‘what would you have me do?’

Yanli thought about it, and decided he was lying. Suddenly, she heard Lao Wang’s voice in her head, saying clearly, “I’ve seen a lot of righteous men do the cruelest things for no other reason than pride. Or greed. The gentry has got a lot of both.”

After everything, she no longer doubted that he would have killed her or A’Cheng, and yes, he would have been within his rights to chase down Wei Ying for desertion and theft. For a moment, she left her own mind and considered how Meng Yao would see the situation, what he would say had happened, and it all crystallized in a cruel vision.

“No, that was not you. For all that you are a spineless coward, you would not have wanted me and A’Cheng around as reminders of being cuckolded. At best, you would have sent us off with a trade caravan with no questions asked of what would become of us. Perhaps you simply would rather have washed your hands of us in a way that did not stain your precious silks with blood or shame. A business transaction would have suited you well enough.” She rolled her shoulders back. “But no. Letting us live, turning us out onto the street—that was Madam Yu’s choice. That was my mother, making one last bargain.” She cocked her head. “Did she agree not to run away in exchange for our lives? To not fight you and all your disciples to the death? She would have, if given the chance, and we both know I’m right. Tell me I’m wrong, Father.” She sneered the last word, for once allowing herself to show her fury.

He reared back at the appellation, his nostrils flaring in disgust, but he did not deny it.

“You are just as foolish and naïve as your mother,” he snapped, then paused to settle himself. He hated losing his temper as much as he hated losing money. “Be that as it may, I know Wei Ying better than Wen Ruohan does. I convinced his representative that I stood a better chance of bringing him in alive with the yin iron than anyone else he could send—and that is what you are here for. You are my guarantee that Wei Ying doesn’t get uppity ideas or make rash decisions.”

As a plan, it was pretty good. She knew as well as Jiang Fengmian that Ying’er would rather cut his own heart out than jeopardize her life.

What he had forgotten, or never truly understood, was that Ying’er was not alone. And now, in addition to A’Cheng, he had A’Yao and Nie Mingjue and even the Lan on his side. Better, she thought, that he did not learn the full implications of that until it was too late.

She turned and closed the trunk, then sat on it delicately, as befitting a highborn lady of the gentry. She smoothed out her robes and tucked her hands away again before looking at him.

“I remember, once, when you took me along with you and mother to a negotiation with a small sect outside of Gujiatian. They were poor, but owned rights to a large copper mine. Lacking other resources, they simply had no way to mine it consistently. Mother told you to spend the money to buy it from them. Instead, you tried to play politics, thinking that negotiations would win you the mine rights without any serious outlay of money.” She could tell by his expression he remembered, but she was not telling this to him. She wanted the disciples ringed around them to know.

“If you have a point, make it.”

“The family tentatively agreed to the negotiations, then turned around the following month and sold the mine to Jin Guangshan. He offered a small fortune for it, but it has paid for itself ten times over in the past decade. Money you could have made for Yunmeng Jiang if you had listened to my mother, who told you that the family had already been exchanging messages with the Jin, based on her conversations with the madam of the family. You called her foolish and naïve then, too.” She smiled, channeling A’Yao at his most vicious, and several Jiang disciples shuffled backwards.

“My point is that you are as stupid and proud as a bull who walks himself to the slaughtering block.” She pitched her voice loudly, to be heard throughout the camp. “You have made a deal with a demon who will eat you alive as soon as look at you.”

He glared at her, then waved a hand at a disciple. “Gag her.”